Silent Inlet

Silent Inlet by Joanna StreetlyOolichan Books 2005

This novel brings the west coast to light through the voices of four people: a First Nations man and his nephew; a white woman and her daughter. As their lives increasingly intertwine, misunderstandings bring them to the brink of tragedy. Their story, of connections gained and lost, of the tensile strength of family and community, of the volatility of racism, is one that will linger and provoke for years to come.

Lonny, a ten-year old boy, absorbs the conflict as the adults he loves seek to understand one another—and sometimes fail. His daring attempt to set things to rights is a terrible risk. This is a story that will pull you in and keep you turning the pages—a raw portrait of life on the west coast.

“Joanna Streetly’s unerring sense of place is one of the strengths of the novel, along with her sensitive exploration of the ambivalent feelings between mother and daughter.” -- BC Bookworld

“It’s engaging and the characters are genuine.” -- Times Colonist

Silent Inlet

Books / written

Between Interruptions

Between Interruptions asks what becomes of us when our children’s lives interrupt our own. What prayers, what cries, what taboo thoughts are suddenly left unspoken? Marina Jimenez struggles with her decision to return to her job as a journalist—in a war zone. Carrie-Anne Moss lets us into her home during her self-imposed, forty-day seclusion after the birth of her first son. Chantal Kreviazuk learns to surrender to the limitations of motherhood. Joanna Streetly struggles to find a balance between protecting and letting go. Elizabeth Renzetti and Karrina Onstad search for friends in mommyland. And Estee Klar-Wolfond finds perfection in autism. Provocative, funny and honest, Between Interruptions highlights the differences and similarities between mothers today and generations past. It is, without a doubt, a conversation worth having.

“Two of my favourite pieces are Tofino-based writer Joanna Streetly’s beautifully written essay on the difficult decision to give up her isolated float home after her baby is born, and Globe and Mail columnist Elizabeth Renzetti’s funny piece on trying to make mummy friends in London.

"Streetly, then living a 20-minute boat ride from Tofino in Clayoquot Sound, becomes obsessed with thoughts of her baby falling overboard. “As if it is my duty, I visit the dark water in my mind’s eye every night before I fall asleep,” she writes. “For a person who has never been particularly fearful, this is a new experience.”

--Times Colonist

Between Interruptions

Books / written

Paddling Through Time

Part of the Raincoast Journeys Series, this book uses a seven day journey by kayak as a means to examine the natural and cultural history of Clayoquot Sound. Join writer Joanna Streetly and photographer Adrian Dorst as they travel through this stunning landscape and delve into its secrets.

“Streetly invests such forthright passion in her writing that the book single handedly announces itself, and its publisher as a real expert on the subject of local history and ecology. The best compliment to be made for Paddling Through Time is that it's an important piece of work that doesn't feel like work to read.”--CD Syndicated Radio

“You have the benefit of all Joanna’s knowledge of kayaking, natural history, first nations culture and white settlers’ beginnings. Somehow she weaves it all together in a smorgasboard of rich description and information, knowledge and wisdom.” --Gulf Island Gazette

Paddling Through Time

Books / written

Writing The West Coast

Writing The West Coast In Love With Place Edited by Christine Lowther and Anita SinnerRonsdale 2008

This collection of over thirty essays by well-known and emerging writers explores what it means to be “at home” on Canada’s West Coast.

Includes the essay “Finding Home,” and cover art by Joanna Streetly

“Here is an intimate look into life on the farthest West Coast of Canada among those, who in their various ways, are filled with passion for its waterways, its forests, its wildlife, even its weather. I found Writing the West Coast fascinating.” — Sharon Butala

“an evocative collection of stories that demands an intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual awareness of the environment in which we live.” — Canadian Literature

“A marvelous collection of 33 essays by top writers covering the full spectrum of the delights of the Canadian West Coast.” — Lower Island News

Writing The West Coast

Books / written

Salt In Our Blood

Salt In Our Blood an anthology of west coast moments Compiled and edited by Joanna StreetlyAquila Instincts 2002

This sold-out collection of postcard stories is an authentic album of west coast snapshots. They capture the thread of constancy, like a common language: the water, the weather, the forest, the beaches. Some of these moments will make you laugh out loud. They could only happen here—on the west coast. Threaded through the wealth of stories is the voice of Neil Buckle. His narrative, as it has been recorded, serves as an historical counterpoint to the collected stories. His voice tells us the way things were. . .

Salt In Our Blood

Books / written

The Fed Anthology

The Fed Anthology Brand New Fiction from the Federation of BC Writers Edited by Susan MusgraveAnvil Press 2003

Includes the short story: “Nameless” by Joanna Streetly

With a thousand members throughout the province, the Federation of BC Writers is one of the most active and vigorous writers’ organizations in the country. The Fed Anthology, edited by Susan Musgrave on the occasion of the group’s 25th anniversary, is a colourful bazaar of previously unpublished fiction and poetry by nearly 50 of those members. Like the Fed itself, the book includes both authors whose names are instantly familiar to all readers of Can Lit and others who are emerging only now to take their place as the next generation. The country has learned to turn to British Columbia when taking the pulse of Canadian writing. The Fed Anthology is a lively part of the process.

The Fed Anthology

Books / written

Living Artfully

Living Artfully: Reflections from the West Coast is a collection of essays that uncovers the interrelationship of creativity and geography through intimate portrayals of the lives of artists.